Kaio

When a fighter's power level goes up while charging an attack, I think it's because the user is focusing their dormant ki into a single point, which would originally be undetected, but since its being used, the scouter/senses would pick it up as additional power. The power level of the attack is not what the scouter/senses are picking up, but I believe its power is the raised power level of the user minus their original power. However, that would mean the ki attack would be weaker than its target, even in the special beam cannon vs. Raditz incident. Well, an attack weaker than its target can still do large damage because the target's ki is distributed amongst their body, as is the fighter's body which explains why a physical attack from the fighter would be weaker than a ki attack and why a ki attack weaker than its target can penetrate their stomach or blow of their arm.

SRP76

I agree with just about everything but this. I believe it's the power level of the user at that moment, period. No subtraction. It doesn't just lose track of the person, and read an attack instead.

Dupe of USSJed

So your saying that...

Piccolo 408
Piccolo using SBC 1300

Not

Piccolo 408
Piccolo using SBC 408
SPC 1300

?

__________________

SRP76

Can't speak for Kaio, but that's what I'm saying.

Dupe of USSJed

That explains Piccolos statement to Dr Gero. I think this idea has potential.

__________________

Kaio

I'm saying that, for instance, when Piccolo was first charging his special beam cannon, the scouter read that he was generating a power level of 1,440 I think, right? Or something like that. So, 1,440 - 408 = 1,032 as the power level of the special beam cannon. If you want to argue that Piccolo also could've been using ki already being used with in his body, it wouldn't really make a difference.

You don't agree with it because the scouter reads the attack strength instead of the person? That's not what I was trying to imply; I was implying that when someone charges an attack, like Piccolo with special beam cannon, the scouter picks up this additional ki that wasn't sensed before because it was dormant. The scouter detects the focused, dormant ki and adds it to the person's current power level because they're still "connected" to the attack. That's what I was trying to imply; not that the scouter ignores the person charging the attack and just measures the power of the charging attack.

(Please don't double post; moderator's don't mind multiple edits. --LegendarySSJ7)

SRP76

Ah, alright.

Now to other business:

I don't think the attack has any separate power level at all. Unlike most people, I feel an energy attack simply has the power of the user. In other words, if Piccolo's power level while firing up a Special Beam Cannon is read at 1,300, then I think that's the power of the attack. It's also the power level of Piccolo.

Bottom line for all of these is, it's their power, their energy. I don't buy the whole "a Kamehameha is 3x stronger than Goku" line that most people believe. Fact is, where's this power coming from for a Kamehameha? From Goku, that's where. With the exception of the Spirit Bomb (which draws energy from outside sources) and the Tri-Beam (which draws on the life of the user), all attacks are powered by - what? - the user's own energy. So it can't exceed what the user has.

All this leads to the fact that I don't think energy attacks have power levels of their own, at all; they just hit with the force of whatever the user's power level is. It's just a stronger attack than a physical attack.

Think of it this way: a kick is more powerful than a punch. Does that mean Goku's leg has a higher power level than his arm?! NO! We simply use the power level of Goku's whole body, and realize that a kick is more powerful than a punch; we don't cut up his body and assign different levels to each bodypart.

So why do it with energy attacks? It's just another attack from the user, stronger than the kick, which in turn is stronger than the punch.

Madness

We don't know how the calculation of power levels work. An attack that concentrates power on one specific location is bound to be higher through having more concentration.

__________________

Kaio

Well, I wasn't trying to imply that every limb could have their own power level, but I believe the person can choose to exert a specific amount of ki into a part of their body. A kick would obviously be able to do more damage because one can put more energy and force into a kick because of its shape and size.

I'm not really sure where you're getting the idea that I was implying that certain attacks are more stronger than the person. I was trying to imply that the attack is charged from and made up of the user's dormant ki (this was stated to be how the kamehameha is performed), which is why I believe the scouter reads the person's power as raising instead of sensing that the person is focusing their once dormant ki into a single point and their own power level. A ki attack would of course be more stronger than a punch or kick because it has much more ki focused into the attack than them. I personally believe the power level of someone is usually evenly or largely distributed amongst the person's body, except with certain occasions and attacks. I realize how confusing my explanations may sound; do you get what I'm saying? I think I get what you're saying, but it doesn't make much sense to me when it comes to explaining things like why the person's power level raises momentarily, and why they would choose to only raise their power that high for a few specific attacks.

Dupe of USSJed

I think it makes more sense for a multiplier instead of an addition(if thats what your trying to say), as the attacks are entirely dependant on the strength of the user.

__________________

Kaio

Why is the idea of the person's power level increasing by a random multiplier more believable than the idea that the person's power level is rising because dormant ki that wasn't originally detected is surfacing with the person's current power level?

Dupe of USSJed

Its being concentrated. It like if you compressed 100 litres of water into a 5 lite sized tank, and then opened it the water would jet out, but if you compressed it into a 50 litre tank it would squirt out with not nearly as much force.

__________________

Tyrant

I agree with Kaio about rising power levels. I think when a signature attack is executed, it increases the user's energy by factors like: time spent charging the attack, emotions, dormant energy etc. Also, I think that when a Ki Blast is used, ALL of the potential energy is released at once whereas when a hand-to-hand fight takes place, only part of the user's energy is released at a time.

USSJed's used a good example, the pressurized bottle explains how the energy is stronger than normal.

__________________

JC#1

I agree with Kaio, great well-thought-out theory, it seems to work with almost every example I can think of.